y, and Gobardhan,
after examining the contents of each leaf, assured Jadu Babu that
the jasam had not been stolen.

My readers who are versed in science will understand that, in point of
fact, there is nothing magical about this rite, which is based on the
circumstance that fear checks the flow of saliva. In all probability
a thief would eject the rice absolutely dry.

The inference was that the jasam had been mislaid; and Jadu Babu
asked whether Gobardhan's lore was equal to recovering it.

"Possibly," answered the astrologer, "but it is not a case of Bati
Chala; if you can guarantee me Rs. 10, I will perform Nakha Darpan
(literally 'nail-mirror'). Let me have an almanac, please, to find
an auspicious day."

After examining it and receiving a ten-rupee note from Jadu Babu,
the astrologer said oracularly that he would return on the following
afternoon, with a lad of twelve, who had been born under the
Constellation of the Scales.

At the appointed hour, Gobardhan came accompanied by his acolyte, with
whom he sat down at the Chandimandab (a shrine of the goddess Durga,
found in most Hindu houses, which serves for social gatherings). Jadu
Babu and the bhadra-lok (gentle-folk) took their seats there too, while
the underlings formed a respectful half-circle in front. Adjuring all
to keep perfect silence, he asked the lad to gaze into the nail on his
own right index finger and tell the people what he saw there. After
staring at it for a minute or so, the boy began to tremble violently
and whispered: "I see a mango-tope (orchard); a little girl is playing
with her kitten under the trees. Now I see her slipping a jasam from
her arm, the kitten frisks about, and the child follows it; now it
disappears, and the child runs indoors." Then, raising his voice to a
shrill scream, he pointed with his left hand to the north and asked:--

"What are those animals which are prowling in the orchard? Are they
dogs? No--they are jackals--one, two, three jackals! They pounce on
the kitten, and tear her limb from limb! Now everything is growing
hazy; I can't see any more!"

A thrill of fear ran through the audience, and one might have heard
a pin drop. At length Gobardhan broke the silence:--

"Let us go to the mango-tope north of this house," he said solemnly.

Thither they hurried and, after a few minutes' search, one of the
maidservants cried out that she had found the jasam half-hidden by
the gnarled roots of a tree.

Jadu Bab